Hurricane Matthew: All Things New’s Response

Just so you know, there will still be at least 2 more blogs about the hurricane and its affect on this nation. The truth is that it was one of those defining events and we here on the ground are still trying to process everything that happened. I have mentioned before that blogging actually helps me to process things that happen here so hopefully we are figuring all of this stuff out together. Anyway, today I want to write about our (All Things New) response to the hurricane. The hurricane, in some ways, has reinforced some of the thoughts that we have about our ministry moving forward, and I want to tell you why.

Our first response to Hurricane Matthew is that our first priority is our children!

This is something that we all already knew, but going into the storm and the worry and concern we felt for our children just confirmed the fact that we are here for them. Every single one of our supporters should know that we will always take care of them, no matter how old they get and no matter where they live. This is important to understand about our organization for those of you who have just began following us. And, just so you know, this is something that we are good at! We have great kids, wonderful house moms, incredible employees, and most of all we love these children very much. Our response to Hurricane Matthew is that we will continue to do whatever we can to love and take care of our children. If you want to be a part of this, please click here to learn more about our sponsorship program and join us today!

Our second response to Hurricane Matthew is that job creation really is the most important physical thing we could do for our community.

You have seen, I am sure, footage of the hurricane in cities like Orlando and Jacksonville (where Jess and Sophie were when the hurricane hit) and you have been able to compare that footage with what you have seen in Haiti. The difference that you see in the 2 locales is the root of the problem! These cities in America will have a lot of cleanup to do and people will lose power, homes, and possessions but they will not lose everything like many did here in Haiti. My point in saying that is the best form of protection from natural disasters is infrastructure and preparedness and these are huge struggles for Haiti. Imagine if the under/unemployment rate in Jeremie was 20% rather than 80% and people could afford to build sturdy concrete homes with sturdy tin or cement roofs rather than the homes they had. Imagine if there were good roads leading in and out of the city with sufficient public and private transportation to facilitate an evacuation. Imagine if food was affordable and people were able to stock up on water, tuna, and other items that are easy to store and eat like they did in America. Imagine if there was affordable insurance to cover the loss of health, cars, and homes. This is the bigger problem than the actual disaster because natural and man-made disasters happen everywhere, but as you have seen over the past few days they do not always end up like they did in Haiti. I want us to realize that after the emergency relief is over and the rebuilding and normalcy begins, this is what we have to change! This is why job creation is so vital because it can lead to infrastructure and preparedness. If you want to get involved with All Things New as we begin the process of keeping the employees we have and creating new jobs throughout the community pleaseclick here (or click here if you are interested in our business partnership program).

Our third response to Hurricane Matthew is that we have to continue to do what we are good at doing and what we have been called to do.

What I mean is that our organization is here to minister to and care for our children first, then to our employees, then to our community and then to the country of Haiti. We want to minister to people on a physical level as well as a spiritual one, and we believe this is why we were called to Haiti! This is also why we pointed you to 2 other organizations (click here to read) who can do disaster relief better than we could. There are so many needs here that ATN could spread ourselves so thin that we would never actually accomplish anything. Instead, we realize that we need to stick with what we are good at and what GOD has called us to do!

I wanted to write this blog because I know we have some new followers and I wanted to make sure everyone who is reading these blogs can understand the purpose of All Things New in Haiti. We want you to continue to give to emergency disaster relief as described in our previous blog (click here to read) but we also want you to know that we are here for the long haul and we want to make sure that we are ready the next time disaster hits. For too long now Haiti has been reactive to every catastrophe and our desire is to help our children, our employees, and our community to be proactive and prepared for anything that happens. We cannot do this without your prayers, your encouragement, and your support!